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Art, Entertainment, Lists, Music, pictures, rant

My Top Albums of the Decade

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Just flipping through the latest issue of Rolling Stone (I rarely read the mag) and taking a gander at their bests of the decade lists, I can’t get over the massive discrepancies in our’s and their’s. RS overwhelmingly favors mostly mainstream/major label acts and a few independent acts with some degree of commercials success. So of course, our homeboys (Black Lips, Jay, King Khan, No Age, etc.) are virtually nonexistent because they’re not big enough! Wow, what a terrifically horrendous way to evaluate music… Anyway, case in point, their top 50 albums of the decade barely included 1/5 of independent music, whereas our lists are the complete opposite. Anyway, here’s their list: http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/31248017/100_best_albums_of_the_decade/44 and here’s mine, the better one :)

1) Black Lips- Los Valientes Del Mundo Nuevo (2007, Vice)

2) Jay Reatard- Matador Singles ’08 (2008, Matador)

3) The King Khan & BBQ Show- What’s For Dinner? (2006, In the Red)

4) Jay Reatard- Blood Visions (2006, In The Red)

5) Jay Reatard- Singles ’06-’07 (2008, In the Red)

6) Bright Eyes- I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning (2005, Saddle Creek)

7) The King Khan & BBQ Show- The King Khan & BBQ Show (2004, Goner)

8) Animal Collective- Strawberry Jam (2007, Domino)

9) No Age- Nouns (2008, Sub Pop)

10) King Khan & The Shrines- The Supreme Genius of King Khan & The Shrines (2008, Vice)

11) Arcade Fire- Neon Bible (2007, Merge)

12) Black Lips- 200 Million Thousand (2009, Vice)

13) Page France- Hello, Dear Wind (2005, Suicide Squeeze)

14) Box Elders- Alice and Friends (2009, Goner)

15) The Pains of Being Pure At Heart- The Pains of Being Pure At Heart (Slumberland Records, 2009)

16) Against Me!- Reinventing Axl Rose (2002, No Idea)

17) Girls- Album (2009, True Panther Sounds)

18) The Nightwatchman- One Man Revolution (2007, Epic)

19) Glassjaw- Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Silence (Roadrunner, 2000)

20) Mark Sultan- The Sultanic Verses (2007, In the Red)

21) Arctic Monkeys- Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not (2006, Domino)

22) Kimya Dawson- Remember That I love You (2006, K)

23) Black Lips- Good, Bad, Not Evil (2007, Vice)

24) The Almighty Defenders- The Almighty Defenders (2009, Vice)

25) The King Khan & BBQ Show- Invisible Girl (2009, In the Red)

26) System of A Down- Mesmerize/ Hypnotize ( 2005, American)

27) Deerhunter- Rainwater Cassette Exchange EP (2009, Kranky)

28) Head Automatica- Decadence (2004, Warner Brothers)

29) Deftones- White Pony (2000, Maverick)

30) System of A Down- Toxicity (2001, American)

31) Mabuses- Mabused (2007, Magpie)

32) Glassjaw- Worship and Tribute (2002, Warner Brothers)

33) Against Me!- As the Eternal Cowboy (2003, Fat Wreck Cords)

34) Black Lips- Black Lips (2003, Bomp!)

35) Black Lips- We Did Not Know the Spirit Made the Flowers Grow (2004, Bomp!)

36) Animal Collective- Feels (2005, Fat Cat)

37) Sonic Youth- The Eternal (2009, Matador)

38) Animal Collective- Merriweather Post Pavilion (2009, Domino)

39) Fugazi- The Argument (2001, Dischord)

40) Those Darlins- Those Darlins (2009, Oh Wow Dang)

41) The Strange Boys and Girls Club (2009, In the Red)

42) The Used- The Used (2001, Reprise)

43) Arctic Monkeys- Humbug (2009, Domino, Warner Brothers, EMI)

44) Editors- The Back Room (2005, Kitchenware, Fader)

45) Shellac- 1000 Hurts (2000, Touch And Go)

I’m leaving 5 slots open for possible last minute acceptances.

Chris

CD Review, Entertainment, Music

Classic CD Reviews: BLACK LIPS

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LP Name: Black Lips!
Release: 2003
Label: Bomp!

1. “Throw It Away” – A+
2. “Freakout” – A+
3. “Ain’t No Deal” – A
4. “Stone Cold” – B
5. “I’ve Got a Knife” – B+
6. “Down and Out” – B+
7.  “Steps” – B-
8. “Fad” – A+
9. “Sweet Kin” – B+
10. “Crazy Girl” – A
11. “Everybody Loves A Cocksucker” – A
12. “Cant Get Me Down” – B-
13. “You’re Dumb” – A-

Fun Facts:
– Recorded 100% in Georgia from 2000 to 2002!
– Cover art by Bradford Cox
– Guitar/noise specialist Ben Ederbaugh died before this was released.

Comments: This is truly a special record that will be forever admired by Black Lips purists. During the band’s beginning years, they relied almost exclusively on a lo fi-punk sound heavily influenced by early garage and country rock outfits. In many ways, Black Lips were much different in the old days. Their music was more cut-to-the-chase like-it-or-you-don’t. Their last two records (’07 and ’09) were put out by Vice, a much larger/notorious corporation than say In the Red or Bomp!. Arguably, their sound has become increasingly fine-tuned and more ready for the masses than ever before. Getting back to this record, more than few songs aren’t garage poppers. You might think “damn, this is draggy OR when does this get good?’ Black Lips don’t care what you think, though. They just shat tracks out of their musical ass (seemingly) and put them on this record. Whatever the excretion system did to them worked, with very few exceptions.

Grade: A- (90)

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LP Title: We Did Not Know The Forest Spirit Made The Flowers Grow
Release: 2004
Label: Bomp!

1. “MIA” – A+
2. “Time of the Scab” – A+
3. “Dawn of the Age of Tomorrow” – B+
4. “Nothing At All” – A+
5. “100 New Fears” – A-
6. “Stranger” – A+
7. “Juvenile” – A+
8. “Notown Blues” – A+
9. “Ghetto Cross” – A+
10. “Jumpin Around” – B
11. “Super X-13” – B+
12. “Hope Jazz” – B+

Comments: Great to watch a band  grow, isn’t it? This time around Black Lips were actually able to accomplish more in terms of  catchy songwriting while maintaining that lo-fi fuzzy sound that got everybody going on their debut. Even something as completely out of left field (at the time) as the organ-infested “100 New Fears” ends up fitting in well and introduces us to the genius of Joe Bradley. “Stranger” is probably the most crazy yet instantly fun-loving track on here. “Juvenile” continues that vibe. What I really love a great deal about this album, too, is how well the guitar and lead guitars complement each other. For songs like “Jumpin” and “Super,” I wish they were cleaned up only a teeny weeny bit. They have (had?) so much potential.

Grade: A- (93)

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LP Title: Let It Bloom
Release: 2005
Label: In The Red Records

1. “Sea of Blasphemy” – A
2. “Can’t Dance” – A+
3. “Boomerang” – A+
4. “Hippie Hippie Hoorah” – A+
5. “Not A Problem” – A+
6. “Gung Ho” – B+
7. “Everybody Doing It” – A
8. “Feeling Gay” – B
9. “Boone” – A
10. “Gentle Violence” – A
11. “She’s Gone” – A-
12. “Fairy Stories” – A+
13. “Dirty Hands” – A+
14. “Workin” – B+
15. “Punk Slime” – A
16. “Empassant” – A-

Comments: It’s fun to listen to this record because it’s coated with tunes that are excessively lo-fi. Keep in mind how I said that some songs on We Did Not needed some cleaning up to reach their potential. Same deal here pretty much! In some cases, it’s more sad than others. Soon we find out that they do get purified albeit in a live setting two years later. The most pure song on here is  “Dirty Hands,” perhaps by a long-shot.

Grade: A- (93)

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LP Title: Good Bad Not Evil
Release: 2007
Label: Vice Records

1. “I Saw A Ghost (Lean)” – A+
2. “O Katrina!” – A+
3. “Veni Vidi Vici” – A
4. “It Feels Alright” – A+
5. “Navajo” – A+
6. “Lock and Key” – A+
7. “How Do You Tell” – A
8. “Bad Kids” – A+
9. “Step Right Up” – A
10. “Cold Hands” – A+
11. “Off The Block” – A+
12. “Slime and Oxygen” – B+
13. “Transcendental Light” – A–

Comments:The first really really really really awesome through-and-through Black Lips LP.

Grade: A (95)

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LP Title: Los Valienteles Del Mundo Nuevo
Release: 2007
Label: Vice Records

1. “M.I.A.” – A+
2. “Boomerang” – A+
3. “Sea of Blasphemy” – A+
4. “Stranger” – A+
5. “Not A Problem” – A+
6. “Hippie, Hippie, Hoorah” – A+
7. “Boone” – A+
8. “Everybody’s Doing It” – A+
9. “Fairy Stories” – A+
10. “Dirty Hands” – A+
11. “Buried Alive” – A+
12. “Juvenile” – A+

Comments: Yup, that’s right. This is my probably my favorite record of all-time. Flaws? Try pointing them out to me. Every song on here is amazing.

Grade: A+ (100)

Entertainment, Music, News, rant

Sultan To Tour W/ Black Lips?!

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Read this very fun and informative blurb from our boy Mark Sultan that tells us many things.

Oh the humanity! I’m back in Montreal from another tour! It was a lot of fun, aside from overstated shit. Great to play with Those Darlins and Dum Dum Girls. Sometimes prefab hype caught up with us and people who don’t care about music judged us for not being ‘crazy’ enough – glad you don’t like it. Sometimes we were just bummed and tired, though. I wanna thank everyone for supporting us and having fun. The shit that went down in KY really put us through the ringer financially, as friends and as a band and happened not as you think, no matter what you read from whomever’s lips or fingers. Really. I’m mostly sad not everyone saw us play with entertainer, ‘Leo Chips’. That was fun and just starting to work. The ‘show’ was finally starting to come together (hence the name, ‘The King Khan & BBQ SHOW’). Oh well. But there is good news – a lot of people enjoy the new KKBBQ album, ‘Invisible Girl’. Thanks so much! We’ll try to tour again or make up lost dates sometime in the future. My new album, entitled ‘$’ is coming out sometime soon. No idea when. Or how, at this point, but I do know that there was one song from it – Nobody But You – floating around… Maybe the In The Red myspace page? Speaking of In The Red, they put out a new single of mine a few weeks back: ‘I Am The End’ b/w ‘Catastrophe’. These are non-LP versions. The new Bloodshot Bill & Mark Sultan album is done! It took a while to iron out the last mixes or whatever,more than a year in the making, but it will be out soon on Norton Records. Tours: The King Khan & BBQ Show will be in Europe in February. Dates coming soon. The Almighty Defenders will be playing sporadically at festivals in both the US and Europe from now until the summer, and both bands will tour together with Black Lips in around May for one fun European jaunt. Keep your eyes peeled. I will also be on tour, hopefully, in the US opening for the Black Lips. With my new band. Standing and singing the whole time. More rockers and dancers. I think that’s it for now! MARK SULTAN

Yeeeee that probably means a March or April Black Lips/Mark Sultan US tour.

Art, Entertainment, Music

Download New PFYFH Single!

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The PFYFH, my OMB formed in 2007, released two singles in January 2009: “Party Whip” and “Political Efficacy.” But just when you thought PFYFH was fading away, a new single surfaced. “JUU” or “Just Under Ugly” is the name of it. It features multiple tracks of recording: orchestral strings sounding guitars, a sporadic drum machine, No Age influenced noise, tape recordings, a CD cover repeatedly tapped by a pencil, a brief wah-wah, and animal noises. All recordings on the single were recorded and mastered in one take in just under one hour. That said, PFYFH is all but done. Thanks to all the fans have who supported the project throughout the past two years. I’ve decided to switch gears from experimental music to garage/punk revivalism. A new collaborative project in that area might be coming soon.

DOWNLOAD: PFYFH – “Just Under Ugly”

While you are at it, you might as well listen to Gangbang Gordon’s latest cover of Black Lips “Not A Problem.” Click here to visit the page where you can hear it and download it. That was another quickie that I put together using two different guitar parts and pots as drums.

Music, News

Black Lips Booked Through February

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Europe/Eurasia
11-11 Lisbon, Portugal – Caixa Economica Operaria
11-12 Madrid, Spain – Joy Eslava
11-13 Valencia, Spain – El Tinglado
11-14 Barcelona, Spain – Nitsa Club
11-17 Torino, Italy – Spazio 211
11-18 Milan, Italy – Musicdrome
11-19 Bologna, Italy – Covo
11-20 Rome, Italy – Blackout Club
11-21 Istanbul, Turkey – Babylon

United States
12-31 Atlanta, GA – The Earl
01-20 Costa Mesa, CA – The Detroit Bar
01-21 San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall
01-22 Pomona, CA – The Glasshouse
01-23 Los Angeles, CA – El Rey Theatre
01-24 San Diego, CA – The Casbah

Australia
01-29 Brisbane, Australia – Laneway Festival
01-30 Melbourne, Australia – Laneway Festival
01-31 Sydney, Australia – Laneway Festival
02-01 Auckland, Australia – Laneway Festival
02-02 Wellington, New Zealand – SFBH
02-24 Melbourne, Australia – Corner Hotel
02-05 Adelaide, Australia – Laneway Festival
02-06 Perth, Australia – Laneway Festival
02-08 Sydney, Australia – Manning Bar

Japan
?????

Does this mean that they could be launching a full out U.S tour in the spring like last year and the year before? One can only hope!

Entertainment, Music

Funny Irony

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I find it highly ironic that the Black Lips studio album that technically contains the largest number of my favorites (9)is actually my least favorite album, Let It Bloom. It’s a good album, but the songs just don’t comare to their live counterparts on Los Valientes Del Mundo Nuevo, of those that appear on the live LP. This album only contains two actual favorites: “Sea of Blashemy”(though I prefer the live version more) and “Empassant,” the rest are just good tracks. I thought I’d just share that with y’all while I procrastinate.

Chris